Twenty-one Denver Film Society staffers, including co-founder Ron Henderson, have resigned in a wave of departures that signal dire circumstances for one of the city’s vital arts organizations.
“Yes, we had to make staff reductions and it’s taken the form of layoffs and a few resignations,” said executive director Bo Smith via voice mail when news of resignations first began trickling out earlier in the week.
The resignations leave Smith plus seven others to run the Starz Denver Film Festival and manage year-round programming at the Starz FilmCenter on the Auraria campus.
Like a number of arts organizations in a rough economy, the film society faces financial pressures. Smith confirmed that the society has a current deficit in the range of $124,000 to $150,000.
But the staff exodus didn’t happen overnight. Nor does it appear to be purely financial.
In April, a mediator was brought in by the board, led by David Charmatz, in hopes of repairing the faltering relationship between the staff and Smith, who was hired in September.
At a regularly scheduled meeting two weeks ago, the board gave Smith a vote of confidence. Shortly after, Charmatz announced the need for staff reductions. Resignations followed.
There was an emergency board meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the staff defections.
Although on Tuesday Smith said he had promised not to say who had resigned, by Wednesday night their names and positions were posted at , a go-to site for independent film. The resignations range from film society leaders to concession workers.
Associate director Britta Erickson and programming director Brit Withey have stepped down. Erickson says she will see through the society’s popular summer series Film on the Rocks on a contract basis. But her last day as the associate director is June 15. Withey’s last day was Sunday, the day the society’s first Cinema Q Film Festival concluded.
Programming manager Keith Garcia’s last day is today. Also leaving are the operations manager, the manager of major gifts and the marketing director.
The last day for the current staff of the Starz FilmCenter theater is June 11, said general manager Oaken Beeson, who also resigned.
Smith said the society is working to make sure operations at the film center are uninterrupted.
The society also is continuing to plan for the Starz Denver Film Festival on Nov. 12-22. By this time of year, planning and programming for the festival are underway.
“Obviously, we’d like to be further along,” he said. “This is going to make that more difficult because the festival involves every bit of our operation. Not only programming, but marketing, development, sponsorship and all the work to put on the program. It’s a lot to do with a pared-down staff.”
Henderson said he’s watched the society grow over the past 31 years, from a once-a-year event to a vibrant organization. “My fervent hope is that the Denver Film Society, in this volatile transitional period, lives happily ever after.”
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com
